Xantrex SW2512 Inverter Questions

[Gene Obie]

Having some power tripping issues and not sure how this system is supposed to work.

When the inverter is set to OFF, and shore power attached should I have power to the 120V plugs (+Frig/Microwave) inside the coach? The manual sort of implies I should as it talks about a shore power AC bypass relay. It only says to charge batteries it must be ON (standby) or CHG while on shore power. With shore power attached i need to set inverter ON or CHG or I get no 120V power - is this expected or is there something wrong with the inverter? I disconnected shore power and started the Geny and behavior was the same. No AC inside the coach unless inverter set to "ON".

On the tripping issue, the park I'm at right now seems to have low voltage on one side of 50A plug. 124V on L1, but 108V on the other. With inverter set to ON, when I monitor Aladdin I see battery current go back and forth from high discharge (like 50-100 amps) to 30-50A charging. My total current draw was about 20-30A so well within 50A limit. And I checked AC limit setting on the inverter was set to 50A. I didn't realize there was a problem until my batteries went dead last night and after some investigation found the low voltage and discovered if I turn off all big 120V "inverter" loads (aqua hot, electric space heater and fridge) that battery doesn't discharge? I have separate Surge Guard on the pedestal and it's not tripping. Even though Surge Guard thinks the voltage is safe the system seems not stable. Is this expected behavior and just a result of that low voltage? Surge Guard manual says it trips at 102V so seems the system should be ok down to there???

[Bill Lampkin]

when plugged into shore power, make sure your inverter is set to charge your batteries, but the inverter function is 'disabled'. Check your inverter manual to figure it out. My new sw 2012 inverter remote panel is a mystery to me unless I have the manual in hand.

[Gene Obie]

Thanks Bill. The inverter section of Beaver manual was not clear. But I did find the Xantrex manual and it clearly states no AC is available to coach if inverter is OFF even if AC shore power is attached or generator running. I also see the inverter has 105V min setpoint so likely what was happening is under load the voltage was occasionally dipping to 105V, and inverter was disconnecting from shore power and using batteries to automatically supplement since i had it set to "ON". Like you said I need CHG setting to prevent this from happening. But in CHG mode these dips completely drop coach 120V power then bring it back online... many times and it was brutal on the fridge. So I disconnected 50A shore but I found the 30A outlet at the pole was also 108V and did the same thing. But the 20A outlet was 124V (yeah) and I'm stable now running on 20A circuit in CHG mode and can still keep warm and batteries charged (down in the 30's at night here).

Park manager also informed they should probably fix that before someone burns up a heat pump or fridge. I ran both heat pumps yesterday to heat up the coach on this crummy power and need to check the line voltages carefully next time and not assume if Surge Guard connects that I'm good to go. From what I've read online, below 108V can cause overheating problems with motors.

[Bill Lampkin]

We were camping this summer in a campground with low voltage also, likely caused by the hot (102F) temps. You could try a Hughes Autoformer, it will pick up the voltage on that low side.


https://hughesautoformers.com/low-voltage/

[Gene Obie]

Wow,  nice product. Wished I would have known about this as an  option before I purchased my external Surge Guard 34951. I wasn't sure how much the internal surge guard had been abused on this older coach so purchased extra protection. But this would have been a better option if this low voltage park power is going to be a common occurrence. A 10% boost below 113V is just about perfect.

[Bill Lampkin]

So, on the coldest days in the winter (well, above 40f) and the hottest days of summer, that's when park voltage will dip, due to everyone turning on their heat pumps/air conditioners. Checking the voltage on the park pedestal before plugging in can't hurt either. Like this gizmo

https://www.walmart.com/ip/TOOLTOP-ET89-Intelligent-Portable-Digital-Display-Socket-Detector-Socket-Voltage-Frequency-Wiring-Tester-RCD-Test/301188772?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=101033462&&adid=22222222227373020467&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=471947306793&wl4=aud-1025747331296:pla-974628839980&wl5=9032602&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=254851738&wl11=online&wl12=301188772&veh=sem&wmlspartner=8*X6Fwho90A&gclid=Cj0KCQiAoab_BRCxARIsANMx4S5YMZN6Wlu2CU_jkfdbFp0bB-W9IxyMELEvUkV-ZzDVhriF6aH6WmwaApOSEALw_wcB

[Gene Obie]

Turns out the 15A GFCI at the park pedestal started tripping and would not stay closed. So I basically had to turn off low voltage shore power and run on battery. And now discovering that the batteries in this rig must have been pretty worn out (purchased 1yr ago). I've though I've taken good care of them (no deep discharges and kept them on charger when in storage ) I only got about 3hrs at 35A draw  on 6-6V batteries before hitting 12V. May go with AGM this time.

So a follow-up question. Is it acceptable to just trip the 30A inverter AC supply breaker on the panel and keep 50A breaker closed at the pedestal? In that way I can still run my hydro electric element on shore power (that phase had good voltage) and run rest of coach AC off inverter/batteries? The manual doesn't address this specifically. Thanks.

[Fred Brooks]

   Gene,
 Sorry you are having such a difficult time with your shore power and your inverter/charger. From what I can understand, you are having 2 issues. Your inverter/charger is not passing 120 volt power "thru it" when on "shore or generator power" and your shore power source has low voltage on 1 of the legs. Throw in the fact it is cold outside and now you have a 3rd problem. Without charged 12 volt batteries everything is going to go sideways on you real quick. If your inverter/charger is not passing 120 volts thru it, probably the charger portion of it may not be working also. When you run the generator does the inverter/charger work? Can you move to another location and plug in? or will the park fix your low voltage. It would be easier for me to help you if you could call me at 520-309-1260 Happy New year! Fred